Polling stations opened in 11 additional constituent regions of the Russian Federation, bringing the total to 65 regions with active voting. This update was announced by Ella Pamfilova, the chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Russia, at the commission’s information center. [Citation: Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation]
Pamfilova noted that, yesterday, ballot boxes were opened in 54 regions, and today, two-day voting began in 11 more regions at 08:00 Moscow time. The CEC leader emphasized that the electoral process is marked by a mix of activity levels across regions, with some locations experiencing long queues at polling stations while others show more orderly dynamics. [Citation: Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation]
The election day has also faced cyber security attention. As of 12:00 Moscow time on September 8, the remote electronic voting system reported 5,024 DDoS attempts, according to Pamfilova. Additionally, she indicated that roughly 219,000 observers are monitoring the ongoing elections. [Citation: Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation]
Earlier statements from the CEC addressed commentary by U.S. political scientists regarding the Russian elections, with officials reiterating the commission’s commitment to transparency and scrutiny throughout the voting period. [Citation: Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation]